Gas washing device



J. J. COPPOLA 2,787,454

. GAS WASHING DEVICE April 2, 1957 Filed June 14, 1955 Fig-1- xX www IN VEN TOR.

- Patented pr. 2, 1957 GAS WASHING DEVICE John I. Coppola, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application .lune 14, 1955, Serial No. 515,499

2 Claims. (Cl. 261-122) This invention relates to a gas washing device and more particularly to a device adapted to Wash out smoke and dirt particles from a gas stream.

Air pollution due to exhaust gases from internal combustion engines such as diesel engines, or automobile engines is deleterious to health. Such air pollution is also caused by furnaces, for example, by apartment house heating furnaces.

Where the smoke and fumes from an engine are conlined within an enclosed room, as for example Where an industrial gas operated truck is employed, the offensiveness of the exhaust fumes and smoke is particularly obnoxious.

This invention is adapted for fixed large industrial use or it may be made as a small unit adapted to be secured to the exhaust line of mobile units such as automobiles, diesel operated trucks and buses, etc.

It is an objective of this invention to provide a compact device for efficiently cleaning exhaust gases and more especially for effectively removing smoke particles from a gas stream.

Smoke particles are of two types, (a) large particles that fall out due to the force of gravity, and (b) small particles that are so light in weight that they are not influenced by gravity but are deposited by electrostatic attraction upon vertical walls and ceilings.

This invention will be readily understood by reference to illustrative embodiments thereof shown in the accompanying drawing and in which:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section view taken through a rectangular tank,

Fig. 2 is a vertical section View taken through a modified device in a square tank, and

Fig. 3 is a view taken on line 3--3 of Fig. l.

Referring to the Fig. l, a rectangular tank is provided with a cover plate 11.

The cover plate 11 is provided with a centrally disposed depending wall 12 extending in suitable spaced relationship to the bottom of tank 10. The wall 12 is provided with one or more, preferably several, slots 13. The opening of the slots is covered by means of a meshed element, preferably line woven wire 14, for purposes to be fully explained hereinafter.

The bottom wall 15 of the tank of Fig. l is sloped to the right toward a clean-out valve 16 whereby sludge deposited thereon is capable of being removed.

The cover plate 11 is hermetically joined to the tank 10 by conventional means as by screw locks or by the weight of the plate itself.

The baffle plate 12 functions also as a divider strip dividing the tank 10 volume into two compartments A, the smoky gas or inlet compartment and B, the cleaned gas or outlet compartment.

The exhaust gases from a furnace or combustion engine are introduced into compartment A by conduit 17. The cleaned gas is removed from the tank 10 from compartment B through outlet conduit 18 preferably united to a conventional vacuum pump 19.

Where the exhaust pressure is suciently large, as in the case of internal combustion engines, the vacuum pump may be eliminated. However, for furnaces, the vacuum pump is advantageously employed.

In the operation of the device of Fig. l, water is initially poured into tank 1li and since the baille plate 12 is spaced from the bottom wall 15, the water level is equal in both compartment A and B as shown by conventional sight glasses Ztl. ln lieu of water various chemical solutions, preferably alkaline detergent solutions may be used. Thus solutions of tri-sodium phosphate, or soap or synthetic detergents may be used.

Upon the introduction of the exhaust smoke gases from conduit 17' into compartment A the water level therein is lowered due to the gas pressure of the exhaust gas. Additionally and preferably the vacuum pump 19 is employed to create vacuum conditions in compartment B. ln any event, during the smoke removal operation the level of water in the compartment B is higher than the level in A. The level of water in A being in fact lowered to the first slot 1.3 in baie 12 disposed away from cover plate 11.

The side of slot 13 facing compartment B is covered with line wire cloth thereby causing the gas passing through slot 13 to be broken into a plurality of easily washed minute gas bubbles. These bubbles after being washed by passing through the difference of liquid levels of compartment E are pumped out through conduit 18 as substantially smoke or dirt free gas. Thus the device can also be used to obtain clean air from dirty air as for air conditioning purposes.

Should top slot 13 become clogged by soot the vacuum in compartment B can be increased so that the next lower slot 1?: becomes operable at the new and lowered liquid level of compartment A.

When suicient sediment or sludge has formed and the water or cleaning solution becomes dirt the cleanout valve 16 is opened and the dirty solution and sludge is allowed to flow into the sewage system.

Turning to Fig. 2, there is shown a modified device adapted to handle greater volume of exhaust gases. ln this device, the tank 21 is preferably square provided with a flanged cover plate 22.

The cover plate Z2 is provided with an inlet centrally disposed conduit 23 adapted to receive smoky exhaust gas. A centrally disposed square walled element 24 is iixedly secured as by welding dependingly to the inside wall of cover 22.

A second square walled element 25 is slidably mounted inside element 24 in a telescopic fashion. Element 25 is provided with a pair of ange plates 26 located in an opposed manner to opposite walls of element 25.

A handle bai` 27 is lixed to the top of each of the flange plates 26 and disposed slidably and snugly through the cover plate 22 through suitable apertures disposed therein.

The square element 25 is provided in each of its four Walls adjacent the bottom edges thereof with a plurality of suitable longitudinal slots 2S, for passage of smoky gas therethrough.

The length of element 2d Walls are such as to contact the liquid or water in tank 21. A square screen 29 is welded circumferentially to the bottom edge of element and disposed in suitable spaced relationship to the centrally sloped bottom Si) of tank 21. Thus the slots 28 move against screen 29.

As will be seen from Fig. 2, the smoky gas enters into compartment A within element 24 and 25 and then passes through 4 linearly disposed slots 28 of the 4 walls of element 25 through screen 29 into the liquid solution or Water located in tank 21.

aver/,454

The cover plate 22 is provided with an exhaust outlet 31 which preferably is secured to an exhaust pump (not shown).

The operation of the modification of Fig. 2 is thus similar to that of Fig. 1 but the volume of gas cleaned per unit of time is larger because of the larger number of slots operating simultaneously in the device of Fig. 2.

The element 25 is frictionally held to element 24 and' slidably adjusted therein by means of pulling or pushing bars 27.

The device of Fig. 2 is cleaned from sludge and dirty liquid by opening clean-out valve 32 secured to the sloped base 30.

The devices of this invention may be used in series to obtain cleaner gas, or in parallel to handle a larger gas volume, or in combination of series or parallel arrangements. Also the tanks employed may be of circular or other construction.

Having read the above description it Will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art that other variants are possible within the scope of this invention. However, all such obvious varients are intended to be claimed by the claims herein.

I claim:

l. A gas cleaning device comprising a vtank holding a cleaning solution, a cover plate secured hermetically to said tank and having an inlet dirty gas orifice and an outlet cleaned gas orifice, a first Walled element secured at its top edge hermetically and dependingly to said cover plate and about said inlet orifice and having its lower edge immersed in said solution, a second walled element slidingly and frictionally mounted in said rst Walled element and having the lower edge thereof immersed in said solution, said second walled element having a plurality of slots linearly disposed in each of the four Walls thereof, and bar means secured to said second walled element for selectively moving it relative to the first walled element.

2. The device of claim 1 having a screen secured circumferentially to the bottom edge of the flrst walled element and adapted for sliding engagement over the slots of said second walled element.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNlTED STATES PATENTS Re. 19,064 Mast lan. 23, 1934 679,108 Clarke July 23, 1901 1,336,070 Coombs Apr. 6, 1920 1,683,747 Wheeler Sept. 11, 1928 2,072,880 Hoag Mar. 9, 1937 2,608,399 Alcock Aug. 26, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 233,518 Germany Apr. 1l, 1911 490,466 France Dec. 31, 1918 

